No Fear
by Until We Fall
Summary: Everyone is afraid sometimes, even the people you least expect.
1. Freya

No Fear: Freya

"...I wanna find out who those guys were...and why I look like them." Vivi's glowing eyes burned fervently with ambition. Through the veil of fear that enveloped him, a new sense of purpose emerged; an entity that breathed a vapor of life into the boy. He adjusted his hat anxiously, looking down at the streams of rainwater congregating in shallow pools, infiltrating the cracks of the slick cobblestones. He inspected the sullen visage that mimicked him in the puddle, perhaps wondering if this sad and confused creature he had evolved into was permanent.

"Look, Vivi's scared, too. But we have to face reality." Zidane was right. The poison known as 'fear' was devouring the veins in my chest as well, entwining tendrils curved about my heart, strangling my very life. I had failed my duty to protect his Highness and the people of Burmecia. I should not be allowed to live. Sacrifice is the highest honor a knight could perform for their fellow countryman. It would be the culmination of my life's work; I would die happily for something bigger than myself. The portentous clouds dwelling above my homeland released ceaseless cascades of rain. The drops drummed upon the abandoned dwellings, as though with their dirge, they could replace the once vibrant society that used to infiltrate the streets. Archaic ancestral statues stood regally, their shining marble faces glaring into the empty alleyways. The robes swaddling about their static forms were soaked by the precipitation. It was the never-ending rain of an anguished heart.

"Come on, Freya. It'll be okay..." I was wrestled from my introspection by a cracked voice. A gentle hand rested itself upon me in reassurance. Though his countenance was hidden, Vivi's eyes portrayed concern. The steps leading to the Royal Palace beckoned me with a gentle coaxing, as though to reassure me that the King still breathed. Zidane began to ascend, his tail curled in resolve to press forward. The swallowing darkness enveloped us, and every advance led up deeper into the void. With a clawed hand, I brushed away a stray lock of hair and turned to the child.

"Vivi... Do you really know what you're doing? The answer you seek may forever change your life for the worse."

I didn't know from where the question came. I suppose it was the result of my pessimistic mood, but my frigid statement tore into his tender flesh. He lowered his head despairingly and scuffed his shoe upon the stone in quiet thought. I mentally cursed myself for making him feel as such. You are only a child once, but for Vivi, the blessing of youth will have to be delayed for the time being. Suddenly, he did something I hadn't expected; he lifted his head in response.

"Um... Y-Yeah... But... But I have to... I have to find out who I am... I'm scared... What if I'm not even human...?"

"Vivi..." I began to rectify, but was interrupted by Quina's bellowing. Additionally, Dan's arrival did not help the mage's mood. With every accusation he made that the boy was an enemy, the more nervous Vivi became.

Sir Fratley, What would you have done?

My reverie curled about me like a haunting specter. Oh how I wished to be reunited with him! I still pray to see him again, despite the fact that everything seemed to impede my desire. Vast plains of grass swirled and swerved like a tormented sea beneath an amber sky. Sheets of downpour growled in the distance, crying out in mourning for the ruined kingdom that it had come to love.

My shoulder ached.

The gleaming mythril spear rested beside me, but not even the valiance and fortitude of this noble weapon could stop Beatrix. She bested us all, and on the morrow, we make an effort to save Cleyra from suffering the fate of her sister, Burmecia. Before us the sandstorm raged like a hungry dragon. My heart was at least glad to know that the King survived and made his escape.

"Hey Freya" my ears pricked at the faint voice. A plump body plopped itself beside me, looking out at the tangerine sunset. My whiskers bristled at my new company.

"Hello Vivi" I responded "How are you faring?"

"I have a headache that's pretty bad, but otherwise I'm ok"

"I am glad to hear it" I managed to summon a smile, then turning back to the landscape.

"Freya…umm…" He began, with a wandering glove, he nervously plucked a blade of grass with every thought he processed. "Remember when we were in the tunnel with all the stairs?"

"Yes."

"Well, before that soldier was yelling-"

"Soldier Dan is a good man; I've known him for years. He was not yelling because he was angry at you Vivi, he was yelling because he was scared, just like you were scared."

"Is that what you were trying to tell me before? You were telling me not to be scared?"

I scratched my chin in thought. "Everyone gets scared sometimes, child. Even I…"

"…No you don't." came his reply. He responded so quickly that I was taken aback by surprise. "You're a Dragon Knight, and that means you're really brave. Y-you have to be brave because people count on you. You don't get scared. You were sad…but you weren't scared."

I did not expect such a thing. For some time, I twisted about in my head, all the possible utterances I could muster. "I wish I could tell you differently my friend, but the truth is, I was scared today."

"Huh?"

"Yes. I was scared and ashamed because I did not know if I was worthy of wielding the spear anymore. The people of Burmecia were in my charge, and foolishly, I left them to pursue my own fancy."

"You were looking for your boyfriend?"

"Who told you that?"

"Zidane. He thinks you're silly...but those aren't his exact words." Vivi responded, still gently pulling plants from the soil.

The sun was slowly drowning in the horizon, its golden light squelched but its descent.

"Well the monkey is entitled to his own opinion, I suppose. He knows much of women, but little of love."

"Really? I think he likes Princess Gar-…err…Dagger."

Ah, the naivety of youth.

"An interesting thought, but irrelevant right now. Vivi, what I wanted to tell you before, is that although being afraid is something that happens to everyone, it is not something that should stop you from your quest."

The youngest of our party adjusted his lopsided hat in confusion. "How do I do that?"

"It's called faith" I was not certain I believed what I was saying. "Having faith, means believing that things will fare well, even when present circumstances seem otherwise."

A pause resonated between us. Finally the mage's nervous behavior stopped. His glowing eyes seemed to portray deep thought and consideration.

"So…when things are bad, I have to believe things can be good?"

"As a matter of speaking. I suppose you can put it in those terms."

The youth arose, brushing stray foliage from his striped pants. His eyes smiled with renewed vigor.

"I'm not going to give up Freya! Those guys that look like me…they're not me…but maybe we come from the same place. There are lots of questions…but that won't stop me. Just like your boyfriend…you'll find him."

"I do believe I will, if I have faith" I smiled.

"Thanks Freya, I don't want to be afraid anymore." He began to retreat back toward the rest of our comrades. Clouds coursed like streamers across the ink-spilled night. I looked down, remembering the spear that lay beside me. The shining blade that tipped my weapon was met with the gnarled wood of a mage's staff. The companions to two fighters, interlocked with one another, as though they were never separated to begin with.

**ALL CHARACTERS © Square Enix**


	2. Amarant

No Fear: Amarant

Author's Note: HEY THERE! Are you enjoying my little vignettes? I certainly hope so. If you have any comments/criticisms/ideas/suggestions on how to improve my work, please let me know! Writing is my passion and I want to always be improving on my craft. Thanks for reading!

My claws; have they failed me?

Of course not; Weapons ever falter from their master's wishes. It's only the wielder that fails to use his armament to its highest potential.

My curved weapons are still strapped to my wrists and I'm just too exhausted to take them off. Maybe I really don't want to- after all if I gave them the opportunity, they could just up and abandon me.

Kind of like that bitch Lani.

Roughly half an hour ago I had all the energy in the world at my disposal; I was so obsessed with winning that stupid bet with Monkey Boy and his little group of brainless fools.

Look at where that got me.

My body feels so limp, curled against the floorboards in the fast-fading day. Floods of sunlight separate into radiant beams of providence as they pass through the ancient windowpanes. The rafters in this damned castle are so immense and ornate, one could get lost if their eyes traveled across the intricate patterns and symbols that adorned every molding and beam in the behemoth of an establishment.

This Ipsen guy really had a lot of time on his hands to create such an intangible maze.

I can remember burying the steel of my claws, glinting with a cold metallic sheen, into the flesh of an enraged beast. Torrents of blood poured unrelentingly from the dusky bristled fur of the creature as it lowed an immense roar of displeasure. Muscles straining, I was dealt a deathly blow from the brute's hulking paw. I tried the best I could to endure the resulting physical trauma and deflect the impact, but little could be done to mute the immense pain that coursed through my body.

I was able to get away, elbows and knees working succinctly in an effort to preserve what quality of life I had. My back and shoulders screamed in torment, but I beseeched them to cooperate, if only for a little while longer. Limbs pumping, thrusting, retreating, I found the safe haven I now reside in…if one could call it that.

My head pulses with pools of ache and anguish, trickling down in slow cascades of pain, dripping onto my back and extremities. My chest clenched and compressed as I inhaled the air made stale with centuries of primeval dust that congregated in thick clouds, lingering in the atmosphere and dancing in the gilded sunlight.

I exhale; my breath raspy and broken, reverberating across the vast cavernous expanse of the ancient chamber. My ears prick up at the barely audible sound of voices saturating through the walls kneaded and knotted with stone and mortar. The voices outside started to wane, getting fainter with the very passage of time.

I was cognizant of the fact that it was very likely no one would come across my wounded frame. I lay in my fragile state, unable to perpetuate enough movement to clamber out into the world.

How pitiful.

The bones in my ribcage cracked and clenched, constricting my lungs and compressing my throat. The rhythmic beating of my cardiac organ increased to a frantic degree, causing my eyes to widen in a mild state of shock.

The thought coursed through my mind like a well-aimed arrow, hitting its mark straight and true. What if no one came upon me in time? I'd have to spend the rest of my waking moments in utter solitude.

Honestly, the thought terrified me.

The resulting epiphany caused my mind to seemingly reel with intensity, searching through every conceivable avenue of though in order to contrive some sort of adequate plan of escape. I was determined not to be stranded here alone for the rest of my life, no matter what measures I had to take to accomplish this goal.

The energy required to follow through with this however, seemed wanting.

The culmination of my fear had been realized, and it seemed that I was sentenced to spending the rest of eternity in this hell-hole.

There was nothing I could do now, but anxiously await my body's expiration

"Ugh."

I released the last, tense, pocket of air within my aching chest; the resulting sound grew louder as it rose toward the vaulted ceiling, as though amplified by a futile hope that someone would hear. I turn my throbbing head to the side and close my eyes. This was darkness. This was the end.

Some tense moments of silence yielded faint, harried steps coming closer, making sharp staccato bursts of sound in my ears.

"Who's there?" a voice called out.

Damn. Of all the people to find me like this, why did it have to be him? I growled at the thought of Zidane mocking me, taunting me with his as-of-yet unspoken "I told you so's".

I would have made some effort to get up and look as though I was in less pain than I actually was if I had the strength to do it. My muscles quivered, making some exertion to obey my wishes, but they failed. What choice did I have at this point but to respond? In my mind I was screwed either way.

"Ugh."

"Who's there?"

My rescuer finally came into view, breathlessly rushing closer to where I lay. He slowly approached me, tail curled behind him like a streamer being tossed helplessly in gales of wind.

"Zidane?" I gathered what little strength I could muster to turn and look at him. "Why did you come back?"

Instead of answering my question, he decided to ask me one instead.

"Amarant! What happened to you?"

My face ran hot with hatred and embarrassment. The countenance that was usually painted with the same bright eyes and smug smile was now softened with strokes of concern.

"Answer my question...I told you we might be enemies next time we met...Or did you come back to mock me?"

Each word I spat at him seemed like acid boiling from the cauldron of my mouth, laced with bile indignation toward my "mighty hero".

"You say some strange things." he returned my sourness with a restrained tone of benevolence. "The guys outside told me you hadn't come out yet. That's why I came looking for you."

Another irritated growl rose up within my throat. Screw the guys! Screw them all! The residue of pain that oozes from my wounds don't make me some pathetic charity case.

"We don't have anything to do with each other anymore." I responded "You don't have anything to gain from this, or do you?"

I could imagine Zidane as a rather opportunistic person. He better not be thinking I owe him any favors because he came back to help me. I won't be bound by any debts, no matter the cost of the wages upon me.

I craned my neck in order to behold him with a clearer view. As my eyes locked onto his, there was something evident within him that was unknowable, even unfathomable to me.

"I don't understand you." I rumbled softly "I don't understand the way you think..."

"Who cares what I have to gain? You need help right now."

"You don't care?" I queried "You're willing to put yourself at risk to save me?"

I felt the veritable furnace of exasperation within me begin to slowly quell into glowing coals of acceptance.

"Come on" his lips curled into his trademark playful grin "We helped each other many times since we joined forces."

Indeed we have. As I reflected, I couldn't deny that he spoke the truth.

"You're a part of the team, and that's what matters" he assured me "I don't know why I'm doing this, but I can't just walk away. It goes against my nature."

He gently extended his hand toward me, his eyes glinting with that familiar childish sheen, and his tail curling about him in interest. I wanted to hate that hand, those eyes, and _especially_ that tail, but I didn't have the strength or the heart to do so.

"And that's what being part of a team means…" I responded, as though I was finishing his thought for him.

The look on his face was encouraging, as though he was glad I was somewhat catching on.

"Isn't it? Come on, that's enough talk. Let's get outta here!"

**All Characters © Square Enix**


	3. Beatrix

No Fear: Beatrix

Author's note: Want the character of your choice to be in the next chapter? Please be sure to leave a suggestion as a review. Thanks!

Also… I love Beatrix and Steiner together.

I could do nothing as all of Alexandria ran ablaze with the fires of battle. The crackling flames engulfed the vaulted rooftops, rising into the swallowing night. The cobblestone streets were filled with the frantic exodus of citizens hopelessly being shepherded by soldiers who urged them to find shelter.

"I will give my all for Alexandria!" I shouted; a cry of vigor to compel me forward.

"Well said! Let us march on to victory!"

I looked to my left and groaned inwardly. Why did this mountain of rust have to perpetually be at my side? There is little I could say about Adelbert Steiner that gave him any merit as a warrior. The captain of the fabled Knights of Pluto was always loud, obnoxious, and quick to temper.

Regardless, the princess appreciated his assistance.

A roar resounded, careening down the alleyways, shrouded in darkness and thick clouds of rank mist. Immense beasts emerged from the fog, the bony plates that lined their serpentine bodies rising and falling with every haggard exhalation. They breathed the very condensation that curled about them and blanketed the cold well-trodden streets.

"Beware, Beatrix! The enemy is close!"

I could certainly do without the overly-blatant statement.

The creatures were not impossible to overcome. They were swift, but not particularly intelligent. It was no sweat off my back to plunge my sword deep into their innards, watching them arch their backs, howling in pain into the deep darkness. Behind them, the fires that voraciously devoured my precious Alexandria cackled and popped menacingly; gilding everything it touched with its encompassing glow. Plumes of smoke rose into the heavens, marking the pristine sky like ink blots on freshly pressed parchment.

The rust-bucket however, was a different story.

"You wish to fight us? You despicable beast!" he chided, as though the hissing, snarling behemoth that postured itself against him could comprehend the complexities of human language.

With every clunking step forward, his tarnished armor clicked and clacked together like disjointed cogs in a piece of ancient machinery. His swordsmanship was haphazard at best, his blade swinging wildly at the wormlike mist-breather. Steiner's brows knit together in concentration, darkening his face so that it likened that of a steely-faced knight.

There are moments when that man surprises me.

He hurled his instrument of war at the visage of the accursed beast as it scuttled about on its many threatening pincers and claws. The attack missing its throat, the creature hissed angrily, exhaling thick clouds of mist as it reared for a counterattack.

I could not expend another second waiting to see how this clumsy farce would come to its final act. I rushed toward the brute's exposed chest, thrusting the cold steel of my blade into its vulnerable flesh. I could tell by the cascades of purple blood that flowed from within it that it was slowly nearing its last breaths.

Steiner's face curled into a scowl at the sight of my acquisition of his "prize". Good. Perhaps that would teach him that his abilities do not supersede mine.

They now surrounded us. They materialized from the thick haze like the children of some force of nature. They screeched and howled an unearthly dirge as the womb of vapor they emerged from flooded and pooled around the night-spilled stone buildings and thatched roofs. The Captain took a step back, his armor clattering as he did so.

"For her highness!"

"For the princess!" he roared, rushing like a runaway kettle headlong into the fray. I leapt after him; not out of any personal concern for his welfare, but I'll be damned if I'm held responsible for his foolishness.

Combat raged around us, swirling like serpents of war, consuming us until the very breath that filled our lungs screamed for battle.

It was sudden. I could feel my chest clench for want of air as my opponent's serpentine tail sent a powerful blow to the gut. My innards quivered in pain, and my body landed on the cool cobblestone cloaked in condensation with a solid _smack!_

I lay prostrate, watching as my trusted sword swirled along the ground, whirling ever further from me, ringing strange reverberations as the blade made contact with stone.

_shiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnng_

I reach out to obtain my weapon, but was impeded by a well-placed claw from my opposition. I strain under the ever-intensifying pressure of the hulking beast as it drew nearer to me, a menacing hiss emanating from it. Its surrounding allies encircled me, pressing ever closer.

I could feel my heart beating frantically. It beat with the same terrified cadence that I had come to know on the Red Rose. I feared for Queen Brahne and for Alexandria. Now, I fear for my very life.

My extremities began to shake as I tried to belittle the terror that grasped me with an ever tighter clasp.

I would have given anything to say that I was not yet bested. As I flicked my eyes to my left, then to my right in hopes of determining a means of escape, they widened in the realization that perhaps this place would be my final departure.

Closer they poured their hot breath upon me, leaning in with almost sickeningly deliberate motion.

"Prepare to die!"

The challenger's roar resounded from the streets as a lone tarnished knight held steady his weapon. With unmitigated resolve etched into his brow, he burst forth only to slip and fall, his rusty encasement flaring up in sparks as he landed.

The bastards that destroyed our beloved home were now fixated on the bumbling buffoon. They turned the other way, now racing in a contest to see who would be the first to devour Adelbert Steiner.

If they could peel him out of his tin can first.

The monsters slashed at his armor and his face with their menacing claws, trails of blood coursing down his gruff countenance.

Retrieving my blade, I felt again embowered. With swift strikes I was able to bring down judgment with all due haste upon my former aggressors. Steiner still laid there, his breaths becoming less harried.

"Beatrix, are you alright?" he queried.

I was taken aback.

"I'm fine. What about you? You're wounded!"

"It's just a scratch"

The yowling of a famished being resounded in the distance

"Persistent bastards" the Captain spat.

"This is futile. Let us return to the castle" I urged. I did not wish to revisit the previous altercation.

"No!" he stated firmly "I cannot face the princess until we destroy all these beasts. On my honor, I vow to protect the princess, the citizens of Alexandria, and...Beatrix I...I shall protect you!"

His words struck me like a well-placed arrow. The resolve in his voice was solid like the stones that make up our fabled home.

"Steiner..."

That was all I could muster. A noble spirit in me wished to continue combat, but a more reasonable spirit bid me steal away, saving what I could. What I did know was that I was not about to leave that man to fend off these wretched creatures on his own.

"I have no regrets!"

**All Characters © Square Enix**


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